Setting: Two weeks before the Genesis War
Location: Ruins of Old Sector-7, near the Deadline Perimeter
POV: Lia
---
It was supposed to be a simple recon job.
Lia adjusted her hood and peeked over the crumbling ledge. Rain slid down her visor, streaking through ash and smoke. Below, Kairo crouched behind an overturned car, signaling her with two fingers: Two targets, patrolling left.
She nodded.
Echo remnants—old agents who refused to give up, even with Zeyren consolidating power. They called themselves "Sparks." Still loyal. Still dangerous.
Kairo's voice buzzed in her earpiece:
"Want to go loud?"
Lia smirked.
"Not unless you want Mom to kill us."
Kairo chuckled.
"Point taken."
They moved like shadows.
Lia dropped silently, her boots hitting wet concrete. She and Kairo flanked in sync, disabling the first Spark with a stun baton, then tackling the second together. It was quick. Efficient.
They cleared the perimeter in under two minutes.
As silence returned, Lia leaned against a wall and exhaled. Rain hit her face, cool and refreshing.
Kairo came up beside her, shaking water out of his hair.
"You're getting faster."
"You're getting predictable," she teased, nudging him.
He rolled his eyes but smiled—and that smile lingered a little too long.
She noticed.
And said nothing.
---
Later, in an abandoned metro tunnel beneath the ruins, they set up a makeshift camp. Lia sat cross-legged, chewing on cold rations, while Kairo stared at a flickering old map.
"This place used to be alive," he muttered. "My brother told me stories about Sector-7. Neon signs, music, people."
"It's just bones now," Lia replied quietly.
They sat in the silence for a while—until Kairo finally said:
"You ever wonder what it'd be like if we weren't caught up in all this?"
Lia looked at him, brow raised. "What do you mean?"
He shrugged. "Just… if we weren't soldiers. If you weren't Zeyren's obsession. If I wasn't built to fight."
She didn't answer right away.
Then she reached into her pocket, pulling out an old photo—torn, faded. A picture of her, Kairo, Ada, and her dad. Back when the world felt almost normal.
She handed it to him.
"I think about it every night," she said.
Kairo stared at the photo. Then at her.
And for a moment—just one moment—he reached out and touched her hand.
"I don't know what comes next, Lia," he said, voice low. "But I'm with you. Whatever happens."
Lia looked up, her eyes burning in the dim light.
"Yeah. Me too."
They didn't kiss.
But they didn't let go of each other either.
---
End of Side Story.